Irridonia Jaina and the Tombs of Tash Taral (Order of Fire)

[Tempest]

[member="Nima Tann"] [member="Shamira Karuto"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @Others in the faction

Training, discovery, struggle. That was what made one stronger. That was what made someone a true Master of the Force.

After their adventures on Kashyyyk, Tempest had been looking for an opportunity to test and hone his Apprentice’s skills further. Strolling around on the Ashira’s Light simply would not do.

No, she had in mind something far grander. The planet of Tash Taral was a world barely known and mostly forgotten. It did however have some exceptionally rare and interesting artefacts on it from the days of the old Sith.

Therefore, when the command of Firemane received word that an expedition sent to recover a sealed tomb had been lost after sending a distress call, Tempest knew this was the place to be. She had put out word that she’d be open to companions from those affiliated with Firemane and the Order of Fire, and that they’d take a Vanguard transport leaving from the Ashira’s Light at a certain day and time.

And so, at that time, she was waiting in the hanger, seeing to the crew’s final preparations. She knew just how dangerous the planet could be, and was taking precautions with food, supplies, weapons and barter.

 

[Karrigan'Xalda]

[member="Tempest"], [member="Nima Tann"], [member="Shamira Karuto"]

(([member="HK-36"], [member="Six-O"], [member="Saeryn the Bard"], [member="Joza Perl"], [member="Taryc Ap'Irae"] : You're all welcome to join))


This was it. It would be her first time in many ways. Her first journey into the stars, to a world beyond Tygara. Her first mission with the appropriately named Order of Fire. It was difficult for the young Xioquo to contain the surge of excitement, paired with a certain degree of apprehension and nervous anxiety as she headed towards what the outsiders called a hangar. Even now, she could not help marvel at the fact that the colossal fortress of steel floated in the cold void, yet somehow managed to stay afloat.


The young woman paused in her stride when she passed a transparisteel window, gazing upon the blue and green orb that was Tygara. It felt weird to look upon the planetoid from there. Reality caught up with her and she checked the device the outsiders called a chronometre, realising that she would be running late soon if she did not get a move on.


So she quickly headed down. Here and there, she passed Eldorai or other aliens. Some shot her disdainful glances. They got a glare in return. She had as much right to be here as they. Various metal machines were docked in the hangar, soldiers and crewers went about their business.


"This one is looking for a Major Tempest," she addressed a technician. Who looked like some kind of...bipedal land kraken, with less tentacles. The Firemane minion gave her a strange look. It was difficult to tell with aliens. Likewise its gender could not be discerned by the Drow.


"You talk weird, you know that? Anyway, she's over there. Look for a black woman in beskar. You know what beskar, don't ya?" the alien with the weird voice pointed towards a white haired, dark skinned woman. Her skin colour reminded the Xioquo of her own people, though it was a fair bit darker.


"This one thanks you - and finds your speech patterns strange as well," she said and quickly headed over. "Lady Major Tempest? Karrigan'Xalda. This one greets you, Chosen of the Karishzar," she addressed the armoured, white haired one and gave a short bow. Her tone was earnest and more than a little eager. "This one shall accompany you to...Tash-Taral and shall submit to your command and spill the blood of the order's enemies." Her Basic needed more than a little work.

 

[Nima Tann]

Nima was at the station after getting the news by her holocomm, which was about an expedition to an unknown planet called Tash-Taral. The one who put the word out was [member="Tempest"], calling the ones interested in to join her. The mission briefing sounded simple enough, get in, find a sealed tomb and get out. And it seemed like a perfect opportunity for her to get out and do something, maybe exploring the unknown would fix her unending headaches.

However, they all knew that it wasn't just going to be an exploration. The expedition was about a sealed tomb after all, and they couldn't be the only ones after it.

Oh well.

As she was lost in thought, she didn't realise how much time has passed, so she started to walk faster. Tempest said she was waiting in the hangars, right? Passing through the crowd quickly, soon she arrived at her destination.

Around her, people were running around, probably preparing for their own missions, some were just chatting, some were just returning from a mission. Not a busy day, it seemed, but still lively.

Anyway, she continued walking, meanwhile searching for Tempest. And soon, she saw the woman, busy with the preparations. And someone else she hasn't seen before.

"Tempest." She nodded, as she walked towards them. And then turned to the other woman, who Nima thought was a Xioquo, from the skin color and the sharp ears. A smile and a nod followed. "I am Nima. Nice to meet you." She was getting better at introductions, that was clear.

[member="Karrigan'Xalda"]

 

[Shamira Karuto]

[member="Nima Tann"] [member="Karrigan'Xalda"] [member="Tempest"]


The checklist was finally, thankfully, almost done. The list, at least to Shamira, seemed a bit long for a simple expedition to Tash Taral only to excavate some tombs. There were crates of food, digging supplies, and even a crate or two of detonation charges. She supposed that they were in case they came to any sort of impassable area and needed to break their way through, but there were other ways to do so other than explosives.
Shamira was chewing on her lip, silently counting over the last of the food crates when a tall, grizzled, grey haired human male walked into the room, saluting to her in a regal military stance. The Togruta just smiled and nodded to the captain, placing her datapad down on the edge of the crate for the moment. “Need something Captain Porter?” She turned to him, crossing her arms and leaning against the stack of crates.”
The captain just shook his head with a small smile, short grey beard shaking lightly with his movements. “No ma’am. Just came to inform you that all the crew has checked in and we are ready to go whenever you and the general are ready to leave.” The togruta grinned and gave a simple response with a thumbs up, prompting the captain to bow nod slightly and leave the cargo hold, leaving Shamira back to her mundane checking.
It took another few minutes, but all of the supplies were checked off of the list, strapped into place, and secure for the ride. In truth, Shamira was just happy to finally get going on the trip. Kashyyyk had gone less than ideally, so she hoped that this mission would go much more smoothly.
Exiting the cargo hold, the initiate started towards the back exit of the ship to hand the datapad back to Tempest and give her report. At the top of the ramp, Shamira called out to her mistress as her leather boots clanged lightly against the metal ramp. “That’s everything on the ship. Captian Porter also said the cre-..” Her eyes flicked up from the datapad to be met with two unfamiliar faces.
A grey skinned, white haired woman who looked to be Eldorai and a pink skinned Twilek were talking to her mistress as the bottom of the ramp. Blushing lightly at interrupting their conversation, Shamira straightened up, bowing to the two force users. “My apologizes. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’m Shamira Kaurto, Tempest’s personal apprentice.” A wide grin plastered her face, playful nature flowing off her.
Standing back straight, she turned to address her mistress. “Captain Porter said all of the crew was ready to go. We are ready to leave when you are, mistress.”

 

[Maiev]

"We are arriving in Tygara space, Master. Plotting course for Ashira's Light once we're out of hyperspace."

"Excellent, be sure to inform them of our purpose here once we're in range."

A small freighter slipped out of hyperspace a fair distance away from the station. And even from that far away it was an impressive sight, one that got a whistle out of the Witch as she viewed it from the co-pilot seat. During her previous investigations of the various groups and factions, she had heard of Firemane and their ties to Tygara.

And it seemed as though Ashira's Light was the crowning example of that connection.

<Even I'm impressed, and I'm ancient.> Kalax-Ra's voice echoed across her mind, for the first time today.

"Well, good morning Kalax, you've been unusually silent."

<Given that you decided to follow up on this idea, I decided to get some rest before you throw is into the thick of it again.>

"I am not that bad."

<Felucia says otherwise.> Maiev let out a frustrated groan, the spirit was certainly not going to let that go for some time. But the reminder of the planet brought a particular redhead to the forefront of the Witch's mind; Elpsis Elaris.

In the wake of their own adventure on Felucia, the two had decided to remain in contact. It was how Maiev learned of the expedition. Word had gone out and Elpsis had passed it on to the Witch, remembering she had voiced an interest in getting in touch with the Order of Fire at some point. So what better way than join up on an adventure, Maiev had thought it was a sound idea, Kalax-Ra not so much.

"They have given permission to board the station, and provided the co-ordinates to the hangar they will be departing from."

"Fantastic! Hopefully we're not too late." With a hop to her step, Maiev slipped out of the seat and grabbed her sizable bag that she had packed ahead of time. She had done some research up on the planet; Tash-Taral, at least enough to get an idea of its terrain and sort out what supplies would be suitable. Her ship was now easier to navigate through, given the vast majority of her stuff had been moved onto The Messenger now. Eventually the freighter landed in the hangar, settling down a ways from the transport.

Now to find this woman; Tempest...what did Elpsis say? Black, white hair, probably adorned in besker armour.

Walking down the ramp, she waited until 'Iggy' locked it down before looking around for the person in question. It didn't take too long for Maiev to find her and a few other folks that looked to be joining up as well. That and it appeared they were preparing to leave very soon. With a degree of caution to her step, Maiev walked up to the group.

"Greetings, I'm Maiev. Hope it's all right if I join up on your expedition? I'm a...friend of Elpsis Elaris, she was the one who informed me of this."

[member="Tempest"] | [member="Karrigan'Xalda"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Shamira Karuto"]​

 

[Tempest]

[member="Karrigan'Xalda"] [member="Maiev"] [member="Shamira Karuto"] [member="Nima Tann"]

Tempest was greeted with many new and familiar faces. First the Xioquo. She’d been taught what to do here by Liavondra, the ‘Queen’ of the Xioquo.
“Karrigan’Xalda, this one greets you and welcomes your fealty. Together we shall bring swift ruin to our enemies.”
That rather portentous speech give, she nodded. “Get aboard. Report to my Apprentice Shamira Karuto for instruction on where to go,” she ordered.
At that moment, fittingly, Shamira appeared. “Excellent, Shamira. Tell Captain Porter that we will depart once all are aboard. Take Karrigan’Xalda here and show her the ship and where to sit during hyperspace jumps.”

Next Nima. Slightly awkward, this. Last she’d seen the Twi’lek, Tempest had been mowing down dissidents on Tygara during their crash-land.
“Nima. Good to see you,” she said cautiously. “No Ice today?” she asked to try and break the awkwardness.

Fortunately, a distraction arrived in the shape of a pretty black haired woman. Tempest smiled.
“Ah, so you’re Maiev! Elpsis mentioned you might be coming, so it’s good to put a face to the name. Welcome aboard!”
She knew little about Maiev except that she was a witch of some form and that Elpsis had spoken highly of her.

“Let’s get on board and we’ll leave once everyone’s settled.”

 

[Karrigan'Xalda]

[member="Tempest"], [member="Maiev"], [member="Nima Tann"], [member="Shamira Karuto"]


The speech was portentous, but Karrigan'Xalda smiled slightly. In case anyone was wondering, Karrigan was the surname because the Xioquo have odd naming conventions...just because why the hell not? For her part, Karrigan'Xalda found human and Eldorai name conventions strange.


"This one shall enjoy staining her blade with their blood," she promised, nodding obediently. She noticed that quite a group had assembled to join them on their journey aboard the metal void ship. Lacking experience with outsiders, she could not help judge things on the terms of her own people. If any of her thoughts were a bit racist, she would not know.


Tempest, giving her imposing armour, weapons, dark skin and status as the Karishzar's Chosen was obviously of the warrior caste. The pale skinned, dark haired woman who introduced herself possessed a strong aura and gave off ethereal vibes. She had to be a priestess or mystic of some sort. "This one greets you, Priestess." Xalda bowed her head ever so slightly. She would have to make sure to humbly request her blessing.


This left the two...aliens. The young Xioquo could not figure out their race or place in the hierarchy. Their colours were very exotic. And, spirits, did they have worms growing out of their heads? Were they alive? Karrigan'Xalda looked deeply puzzled. They had to be mercenaries or indentured mamluks. The purple one felt especially blessed by the spirits, so she had to have a higher status. In any case, Mistress Tempest was already talking to her.


Remembering Tempest's command, she hastened after the one she'd referred to as Shamira, after giving the other exotic woman, Nima, a curious look. She responded to Shamira's playful grin with a thin smile. The girl's playful, casual attitude puzzled her slightly.


"Karrigan'Xalda. Are you Lady Major Tempest's slave as well as her apprentice?" she asked earnestly, as if this were a completely normal question. "This one also wishes to know what these are," she added and proceeded to poke one of Shamira's headtails. This was probably not the way intercultural understanding worked.

 

[Nima Tann]

The situation got awkward, but it wasn't her this time. She could understand where this was coming from.

"Good to see you too. He's at the Villa. We don't want him to get excited and accidentally injure a soldier, do we? One can't be too careful." She answered her question with a nod, her voice was calm. One would think she was insinuating something, but Nima was too kind to do that. "Besides, flying upsets his stomach." She added with a smile.

More people joined them afterwards, and caused the awkward air between them to dissipate.

A woman with a pretty interesting aura showed up, saying that she was Elpsis's friend. There was something else, that resonated with her somehow. Only the time would tell what this "something else" was.

Well, it seemed it was the time to move.

Looking at the entrance, she saw the young Togruta from earlier, whose name was [member="Shamira Karuto"], the apprentice of [member="Tempest"]. She heard much about her but didn't have the chance to meet. Well, it was a good chance to do that now. The Xioquo from earlier, who she tried to talk to but was met by curious looks like she was a scientific subject instead, was talking with the girl. It was obvious that their species were foreign to her.

Anyhow, she moved towards the ship, checking her equipment one more time on the way.

[member="Karrigan'Xalda"] [member="Maiev"]

 

[Shamira Karuto]

[member="Tempest"] [member="Karrigan'Xalda"] [member="Nima Tann"] [member="Maiev"]


Shamira grinned at the mistress, nodding in response to her orders. “Gotcha. I’ll talk to the captain.” She was turning, ready to head up the ramp back into the ship when she heard Tempest address Karrigan’Xalda, mentioning her name and telling her to show her where to sit. The Togruta furrowed her brow at the odd sounding order.
Her eyes flicked to the dark skinned elf walking up the ramp towards her. Why wouldn’t someone that was part of the order of fire not know where to sit during hyperspace jumps? Maybe she had just never flown? Which was odd considering they were on a space station, and all.
Shamira attempted to store away these questions in the back of her mind, starting to grin friendly as Karrigan’Xalda approached her. It was a involuntary reaction, but her head tilted to the side questioningly at the woman’s first question. Her grin turned more into a nervous smile, and she shook her head in response. “No..I’m just her apprentice.”
The poking of her lekku made the initiates apprentice’s breath hitch, and shiver lightly at the sensation of her sensitive headtails being poked without restraint. Her voice waved lightly as she spoke, taking a step back to avoid any more unnecessary poking. “Th-their my lekku. Headtails, for a more casual term. All Togruta and,” The grey skinned teen pointed to the pink skinned woman at the bottom of the ramp. “Twilek have them. They’re extremely sensitive.” Reaching on top of her head, she tapped her horns with each index finger. “And these are my montrals. They help me sense some objects.”
Her nervous smile turned back to a grin now that the awkward explaining was over with. Motioning for Karrigan’Xalda to follow, Shamira proceeded up the ramp, into the main common area. Heading to the left, now a circular corridor, they proceeded up the stairs into the control bridge of the ship. “So, you could either sit down there in the common area, if you're strapped in.” She then motioned to the chairs in the bridge. “Or up here. Though, there might not be enough seats with the crew and Tempest, plus our other two guests.” Folding her hands in front of her, she moved off to the side when captain porter walked up the stairs. Currently he was the only crew member aboard the bridge. “Tempest said she’s almost ready. I’d call the crew up here to get ready to leave.”
Nodding, the grey haired man sunk into his officer’s chair, pressing the button to speak through the comm on the ship. “All crew to your stations. Gunners to your posts. We depart in minutes.”

 

[Maiev]

Maiev smiled, both out of the friendly atmosphere and relief that they would be avoiding the awkwardness of having some random raven-haired woman approaching them. Well the majority of the others didn't know of her, but at least the woman in charge; Tempest had, which was what mattered in this instance.

"Same, she had spoken of you and a few others. Thank you for allowing me to join you."

With a nod she went to move towards the transport when a new voice suddenly spoke up. Maiev turned to face Karrigan'Xalda as the dark elf bowed to her.

"Well that's new...I haven't had someone call me priestess or bow to me since my childhood."

<And thankfully this one isn't doing it out of some insane devotion to a child. I'd say it's more out of naivety.>

Maiev nodded internally, agreeing with Kalax-ra that the Xioquo was an interesting character.

"Thank you," she said giving the Xioquo a smile and a slight bow of the head. Maiev watched as the woman moved over to the Togruta, and proceeded to touch her lekku. Oh dear.

With that, Maiev followed the others on board taking a moment to examine the interior once inside. It was most certainly an impressive piece of engineering, and made her own little ship look inferior in comparison. Then again, the witch hardly invested in such matters to begin with, but it was always amusing to make such comparisons. After about a minute she got herself seated down with the others, depending of whether there was still space where they decided to settle down at. Either way, of course Kalax-Ra had to still get the last word in.

<This is going to be lovely...even more people to potentially react poorly to me.>

"Oh hush it Kalax, Elpsis took it very well so I'm sure this lot will too."

[member="Tempest"] | [member="Karrigan'Xalda"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Shamira Karuto"]​

 

[Tempest]

[member="Karrigan'Xalda"] [member="Maiev"] [member="Shamira Karuto"] [member="Nima Tann"]

Tempest chuckled as Xalda poked the lekku. She could understand the impulse, but the Xioquo would swiftly learn that was like someone groping her.
She smiled at Nima and Maiev and ushered them aboard. It didn’t seem like anyone else was coming, so she sealed the hatch and went to the bridge.

“Ladies, please take a seat and buckle up. Let me share the details of this expedition now that we’re away from prying eyes.”

“You know the basics; we are going to Tash Taral to follow up on a team researching a tomb. There’s more. The research team is commanded by a friend of mine, Professor Wisdom Okani. They had received word about an ancient Sith tomb exposed by an earth tremor. They headed there with a part of fifteen including guards, guides and researchers. At first we had good reports, but on the day they were going to enter the tomb we lost signal and have been unable to raise them. Attempts to send probes in have seen the camp entirely emptied of people before they too were lost.”

“This is a rescue mission paired with a discovery one. Sith tombs are nothing to joke about, so all of you choose a partner to watch the back of. It’s a six hour flight from Tygara to Tash Taral so relax for now, we’ll serve dinner in 30 minutes and I’ll provide briefing notes and intel at the same time.”

 

[Karrigan'Xalda]

[member="Tempest"], [member="Shamira Karuto"], [member="Nima Tann"], [member="Maiev"]


"Oh." Well, this was rather embarrassing. The exotic looking alien was no slave, and it seemed she did not have worms in her head. On a basic level, Karrigan'Xalda understood that Firemane had abolished slavery among her people, but old mind sets died hard.


Moreover, she knew the Karishzar had a substantial following of girls and boys who were referred to as slaves and whose main purpose in life was to pleasure her...but apparently they volunteered for that, even though that made no sense. It was all very confusing. These outsiders were weird.


"This one apologises profusely and looks forward to fight at your side. This one is also glad to know that these...headtails are a functional part of you, rather than worms growing out of your head," she said earnestly.


It occured to her that she might have been impolite by not responding to the purple skinned one. If the younger, less powerful one was no slave, then it was doubtful the purple one with the tentacles was. This was a bit awkward.


She looked upon the various seats as she was led to the bridge. The common area seemed like an obvious place for her to be, since she was no officer, but it seemed she was wanted on the bridge. Regardless, she strapped in. "How does this...metal void ship work?" she asked curiously, eyeing the strange devices.


However, before this could be elaborated on, Mistress Tempest arrived and began her briefing. Karrigan'Xalda listened attentively. "It will be an honour to slay whichever fiends have assailed your companion. Should her fate be an ill one, she shall be avenged and her slayers suffer a most painful death. What...dangers are common to this world? This one knows Sith are the adversary of the order. And this one enquires if the Priestess will bless the journey?"

 

[Nima Tann]

She moved towards the bridge area with the others, where a general briefing was going to be held. Soon, everyone arrived to the scene.

Finding herself a seat, she buckled up and started to listen [member="Tempest"] as she talked about what to do, and where to go. It seemed they had two objectives. A rescue mission, and the retrieval of the Sith tomb. Lost signals were never a good sign, now it was almost certain danger was waiting for them. They needed to split up, most probably.

It was to be expected in such missions though.

Towards the end of the briefing, the Xioquo asked a question, which she had an answer. Even though she hasn't been in Tash Taral before, she knew Sith tombs and their dangers from Korriban.

"You need to prepare yourself mentally, as well as physically. The Sith tombs have spirits who want to possess you. They whisper you what you need, seem friendly, even try to confuse you by saying things about your allies. If you give in to their whispers, you'll become their puppets. Also, retrieving the Sith tomb will not be too easy. According to the briefing, there is at least one person who has the same objective that we have. And if they are targeting such a tomb, they are no weaklings."

[member="Karrigan'Xalda"] [member="Maiev"] [member="Shamira Karuto"]

 

[Shamira Karuto]

[member="Nima Tann"] [member="Karrigan'Xalda"] [member="Tempest"] [member="Maiev"]


Captain porter had finished the preparations, and once the group of ladies were on his bridge, he nodded to the pilot of the vessel, ensign Gael Karis, a light green skinned rodian. The ensign nodded back, and with the help of his copilot, The Vendani lifted from it’s port in the Ashira’s Light’s hanger, turned towards the opening, and flew out in the empty vastness of space.
While Tempest began to explain the mission to the rest of the crew, Karis began to plug in the navigation coordinates and turned to Captain Porter to get his approval. The captain raised his hand in a stopping motion, turning to listen to the rest of the major’s speech and any other questions that were asked. He figured it rude to jump to hyperspace before everyone was fully strapped in and ready, especially the grey skinned elf who, from what he had heard her say, not been on many starships. Hyperspace jumps could be quite frightening for first timers.
Shamira, meanwhile, was near the back of the group, leaning against the doorframe of the bridge. Everyone else seemed to be leaning or sitting closer to Tempest, but Shamira was content to sit back and listen to the briefing from the back. Between her time at the Temple and the Order of Fire, she knew it wasn’t her place to speak during these meetings unless her question was relevant and wanted. Keeping her mouth shut, and just listening, was typically the appreciated way for initiates and padawans to act.
Her blue grey eyes turned to the pink skinned twilek as she began to recant the dangers of a sith tomb. Shamira had never been in one, nor anywhere where one would reside, but she quietly reminded herself to meditate to calm her mind during the hyperspace travel. Sometime in between taking Travis’s and Belish’s, the backup rotational pilot and chief engineer, respectively, credits in a quick game of sabacc.

 

[Maiev]

The Witch remained silent and listened closely as Tempest briefed them on the expedition. She said nothing, both because she had nothing to mention nor was it her place to interrupt, though she was fairly certain they'd be open for questions if any cropped to mind. What caught her attention the most though, was the mention of the Sith tombs. Elpsis had only informed her of the expedition in a general sense, and wasn't able to give specific details.

<Lovely, we're going to be dealing with spirits too.> Maiev had to refrain from physically rolling her eyes at Kalax's complaining. Seemed like the spirit woke up on the wrong side of the spirtual bed this morning.

She nodded her head in response to Nima's explanation and warnings of what lurked within the tombs. Maiev had traversed her fair share of them over the years, but being the host to a dark spirit hself meant she had a innate benefit against them. Then again, just because she had yet to meet another spirit powerful enough to overcome Kalax-Ra, didn't mean there wasn't still one out there. It paid well to be cautious after all.

With the briefing over, Maiev attention shifted to gazing around the bridge. That was until Xalda suddenly spoke of her; or rather the 'Priestess' term the Xioquo had given her. She gave the woman a small smile and a nod.

I suppose that's something I could do...

<Better hurry up and think of something, otherwise you might disappoint the poor girl.> Yeah, she was definitely grumpy today.

Maiev remained for a short while, mulling over what to say that would equate closest to a relevant blessing. But she soon found one, closed her eyes and began to softly chant. The words falling from her lips with wispy breath to it. If there were any amongst the group that understood the words, they would recognize it to be Dathomirian in origin and that it was a prayer usually given to a tribe's young the night before they set off for their pilgrimage into the Wilds.

It only lasted for a minute, and once it was over Maiev opened her eyes once more.

[member="Tempest"] | [member="Karrigan'Xalda"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Shamira Karuto"]​

 

[Tempest]

[member="Karrigan'Xalda"] [member="Maiev"] [member="Shamira Karuto"] [member="Nima Tann"]

Tempest finished her briefing, giving the signal to Captain Porter that he could make the jump in five minutes.
She took a seat beside Xalda, ensuring the Xioquo was securely strapped in.
The question the sepoy had asked before her briefing came to her. She wasn’t sure how exactly to explain FTL and hyperspace to someone whose people had not even developed aircraft.
“It works by travelling through the void. Distances are shorter in the void so we can travel very far very quickly,” she said confidently. It was completely wrong and she knew it…but it was the best means of communicating something otherwise incomprehensible.

The ship jerked and then shot into hyperspace. The stars blurred into lines which shot past them.
As a last piece of advice, Tempest unbuckled Xalda and her own belts and patted the Xioquo on the shoulder.
“Don’t stare into the stars in the void – however pretty they look. It’ll give you a headache.”

Addressing the rest of the passengers she looked between them.
“Some of you I know well, others not at all. So, let’s just run down our individual talents and skills so we all know where we stand. I am strong in melee combat with a lightsabre, I can control the elements of air strongly and I am talented in using the Force to strengthen and protect myself. Now, the rest of you tell me what you’re good at so I can plan combinations.”
She knew Shamira of course, and Nima was also well known to her, but she had never met Xalda or Maiev before. Knowing their talents would allow her to plan properly.

 

[Karrigan'Xalda]

[member="Maiev"], [member="Nima Tann"], [member="Tempest"], [member="Shamira Karuto"]


Xalda's nerves calmed down quite a bit when the pale, dark-maned Priestess blessed their journey and beseeched the spirits to watch over them. At least that was how the Xioquo interpreted the soft chant that emanated from her lips. She no longer prayed to Myrou - or Mystra, as she was known amongst the other elven people of Tygara - for the Xioquo's creator had revealed herself to be a monster, and had not adopted Ashira, but she still believed in the spirits. She did not understand the human's words, but they sounded pleasant and melodic. Moreover, few common Xioquo actually understood the archaic words used by their own priestesses.


"That was beautiful. This one humbly thanks the revered Priestess," she spoke, giving the cleric a grateful nod. It was always sensible to be on good terms with those who were endowed with connection to the mystical otherworld. Even if there was no risk of being sacrificed to an elder goddess.


As the vessel suddenly jumped into the void, Xalda almost jumped. She looked a bit embarrassed when the dark skinned Mistress appeared at her side. Her expression was mesmerised when she stared into the stars, then hastily looked away. "Amazing. It's so bright," she muttered as the stars blurred into lines, too fast for her to track. To the Xioquo, it was a vast, blue abyss.


She wondered if creatures lived in it - or if they could get trapped. She glanced once more to the Priestess, then pushed these thoughts out of her head. "Thank you for explaining." Yes, she probably sounded like Cameron when she said that.


Unexpectedly, the purple skinned outsider had spoken up, mentioning the dangers that awaited them. Now this was something that seemed more familiar to the Xioquo than the mysteries of void travel. "This sounds like the catacombs of the Underealm. They are filled with abominations and mad spirits. Slaves were sent down there to be sacrificed. The Mad Queen's presence still echoes down there. Some say they can hear her voice. It fill their head with evil thoughts," The Mad Queen in question was Myrou. Some Xioquo did not refer to her by name, as if afraid that doing so would cause her to return.


Things moved on to the briefing as the dark one took charge. "This one is proficient in blade and spear and has been trained to use a boltgun." It had been a significant step up from the most advanced Xioquo rifle, which accomplished the astonishing feat of being able to fire six shots without reloading! "This one is agile, can see very well in the dark and also manipulate the earth to a degree," she answered.

 

[Shamira Karuto]

[member="Tempest"] [member="Karrigan'Xalda"] [member="Maiev"] [member="Nima Tann"]


Never before had she heard a chant like that. Not only that, she couldn’t even pick up on the dialect of what the woman was chanting. Granted, she had not been around the galaxy and heard every single language, but she felt as though she should know some of what the woman was saying. She made a mental note to ask the brunette what the chant menat, and better yet, what this priestess thing was as well.
Since she was Tempest’s padawan, she figured she might not need to rattle off what her talents were. But after a second thought, and once she saw everyone else doing it, she decided it better if she just went with the flow and gave her strengths to the group.
Once it was her turn, Shamira spoke up, attempting her best to sound confident in her own words. “Well..I’m not an experienced duelist, but I can hold my own quite well. I have been training with Tempest for a month or so now. So take that for what you will. I am starting to get better with my air manipulation, and can ‘see’ the air pretty much on command now.” From what she had said already, the two things didn’t seem much like strengths, so she attempted to change that. “I’m extremely athletic. With the force to help me, I can reach just about any area. I’m an experienced climber, and know most of the basics to cave exploration from my time back home on Shili.” Smiling wide, she hoped the last bit convinced the others that she brought something useful to the conversation.

 

[Maiev]

Maiev opened her mouth to speak, to correct Xalda that she wasn't much of a priestess, let alone 'revered'. But the sudden jarring of the ship as it jumped into hyperspace seemed to jostle the Xioquo in her seat. She wondered if this was Xalda's first time offworld, the jitters and general uneasiness would point to the answer being yes. Maiev remembered that feeling well from when she had first left Dathomir. Despite all of Kalax-Ra's instruction and teaching, it meant little when it came to actually leaving where you had grown up. Thankfully the ship she had brought had came with a pilot; 1G-6Y, or Iggy.

After spending twenty years moving about the galaxy, you get use the travelling through hyperspace.

Once the ship was settled into its course, Maiev unclipped her seat's belts and stood up. The witch smiled at the sheer curiosity in Xalda's voice, after staring briefly out at the void. She caught the woman's gaze back at her, there seemed to be question on the Xioquo's mind, but it went unsaid as Tempest made a call for everyone's skillset.

"I'm fairly adept at using regular blades, that and I'm quite flexible when it comes to movement." Though being a half-breed meant she didn't have the complete potential of her Vahla blood. "But my speciality is in the spiritual and mystic arts. I can commune with nature, and creatures to an extent. As well as having a substantial knowledge of the alchemical arts."

<And you just so happen to have a spirit inhabiting your body, that will become quite handy when in the tombs.> But Kalax-Ra's words went unsaid to everyone but Maiev, after all how do you go about telling people you just met about something like that?

Maiev remained silent on that for now, if the situation winded up like the one with Elpsis then it would crop up naturally at some point.

[member=Tempest] | [member=Karrigan'Xalda] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Shamira Karuto"]​

 

[Nima Tann]

The chanting, even though Nima didn't understand what it was about, was indeed beautiful. The ship jumped to hyperspace not long after that, and started their journey towards the unknown.

"Yes, actually. Quite similar to that. " She nodded to the Xioquo, answering to her narrative of mad spirits and how they affected the living. It was fascinating to learn about different cultures.

When Tempest asked them what their skills were, she listened to the others first, and observed the scene. One by one, everyone spoke up, and it was her turn eventually. Taking a breath, she started to talk.

"My specialty being mentalism, I am also experienced in dueling. Telekinesis, I have knowledge in a moderate level." Nima didn't like to talk about herself, it was awkward and she felt like she was bragging, so she left it at that.


[member="Maiev"] [member="Karrigan'Xalda"] [member="Shamira Karuto"] [member="Tempest"]